Hilarious Things Skiers Have Lost (And Found) On The Slopes

Every year as the snow melts, resorts send employees and volunteers out to retrieve lost items surfacing for the first time in months.

There are, of course, the items you’d expect skiers to lose: car keys, mittens and gloves, poles galore, and more phones than an Apple store. But every year, there are also things that make us scratch our heads and audibly ask “how?” At this point, we’ve seen everything from retainers to spatulas, and even an iPod Nano (do they even make those anymore?).

Having thought we’d seen it all, this year we decided to ask SKI readers the most memorable (or regrettable) thing they’ve discovered or parted ways with on the slopes. Here’s a sampling of the weirdest, funniest, and most unexpectedly wholesome responses we received.

The “Check Your Zippers” Category

What do all of these have in common? Owners who forgot to secure their valuables. Zip your pockets, folks.

• “Car keys…10/10 do not recommend.” —@nmestets
• “Lost my credit card, filed it missing and got a replacement. Found it inside my glove the next day.” —@instantemma
• “My friend lost her car keys on Highlands, and someone found them and turned them in.” —@Karlaelges
• “My left AirPod at the top of Calamity Jane at Big Sky.” —@go_sioux
• “Found my husband’s ski pass on a run!” —@Marzeedotes2
• “I found someone’s phone in the woods!” —@taylorfelice
• “I helped someone find an AirPod.” —@Mlejokopp

Money Really Does Grow on Trees

Apparently loose cash is more common than powder stashes at some resorts. A surprising number of people found literally money on the slopes. Hope they at least treated their friends to a free lunch.

• “$80 flying thru the air—couldn’t find anyone who lost it so I shared it with the people around me.” —@kpuchlovesdogs
• “Found a crisp $100 bill skiing down Supreme on Empire at Deer Valley. I thought, ‘This place is so bougie they are giving away money.’” —Callie Nobles Schipper
• “Found a $50 buried under thin-packed snow. Paid for my wife’s next ski lesson.” —Curtis Fry

The Lost-and-Found Hall of Fame

Every spring, resorts uncover strange artifacts. Readers did not disappoint, though we’re sensing a theme here…

• “I found an unopened Twix bar recently. It was a nice little treat.” —@umooseluke
• “I walked under Chair 9 at Telluride and found about a dozen pot-smoking pipes and lighters.” —Kevin Schwinkendorf
• “Found: weed. Lost: my interest in corporate America.” —@powderbud

Big Ticket Losses

These are items you just might shed a tear over—not easily replaceable and often with some sentimental value.

• “$15,000 Rolex—turned it in at Mt. Rose. The owner got it back and sent me a nice note and $200 cash.” —@captain_gnar
• “I once lost one of my brand-new Dynamic VR 17s under the Gad 1 chair at Snowbird while skiing powder back in the day. I even went back up the hill with a borrowed metal detector that same day. Never found the ski again, even after the season was over.” —David Kennedy

Editor’s Note: Somewhere beneath Snowbird sits a perfectly preserved ski waiting for archaeologists to discover it a bunch of years from now.

Skiing as Therapy

There’s something about skiing that hits people in the feels. After all, there’s no better therapy than nature, right?

• “I found a part of myself I had forgotten existed.” —@Taylormsivak
• “I found self-confidence on skis when I was a kid…” —@Crimsonata
• “Happiness.” —@Tomporterfield
• “I found inner peace and the will to become a better human.” —@ribrid.swiss
• “Found: absolute joy, peace, flow, and calm. —@chris.co.photo
• “Lost my ex by choice to find myself again and my true love for skiing.” —@Skivo_christensen
• “Will to live.” —@hoffman_98 (we hope that was a “found”)

The Human Body Never Forgets

Some readers left a little more of themselves on the mountain than they planned. At least they have a sense of humor about it.

• “An intact psoas major muscle.” —@littlemisslollipop
• “The ability to fully extend my left arm.” —@Ellenmaloneyy
• “Lost my left MCL.” —@organicskibunny

Things That Should Stay Lost

We all slide down the same snow together. No reason to get ornery.

• Found: Hate for snowboarders. —@bigredfitness

Finally, the Most Wholesome Finds of All

“In 1977, in Aspen, I found a beautiful young lady at the Little Nell chairlift. I asked her if she would like to go up the chair at the same time as Jack Nicholson, the actor. Much to my delight, she decided to come up with me. We’ve been married 45 years. That’s what I found skiing.” —@Transervinis

Call us sentimental, but 45 years of marriage just might be the best thing anyone has ever found on a ski hill.